Chuck E. Cheese Restaurants Recall Battery Powered Toys
The Dallas Morning News has reported the Chuck E. Cheese restaurants was forced to recall over 1.2 million light-up electronic toys because they posed a hazard for small children. The report states the plastic battery container could break open easily and a child could swallow the batteries inside. If the batteries are swallowed, it could cause harm to the child’s intestine, esophagus, or stomach and cause more serious damage as a result.
This is the largest recall that the restaurant chain has faced since 2001. Overall they have faced a total of four recalls including recalls in 2001, 2002, and 2005. Prior to this recall, the largest recall totaled 144,000 children’s toys sold by the restaurant chain. There are no injuries reported as of yet in this incident. However, two children did manage to remove the batteries from the pack. One of the children swallowed a battery while the other stuck a battery in his nose.
According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission, in 2008 approximately 19 reports had been filed regarding toy-related deaths involving children younger than 15 years old. A majority of these deaths involved a choking hazard resulting from a small toy or a small piece from a toy. Although there were no reported injuries or deaths in this particular incident, the statistics show that it is very easy for a child to be seriously injured or killed when a toy is not designed properly or is defective in some way. The Chuck E. Cheese restaurant chain as stated that their parent company will ensure that any toys they give away as prizes or sell to children will be designed with better specs to avoid more hazards of this nature.
